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Inspiring Young People to Connect with and Contribute to Their City SALLY AIREY and RYAN REYNOLDS

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Inspiring Young People to Connect with and Contribute to Their City SALLY AIREY and RYAN REYNOLDS EXEMPLARS OF CITIZENSHIP LEARNING club has provided us with ideas for developing school kits CHCH101 was the main reason I was confident in my that will be available to students and teachers across New skills to bring immediate relief effort to my community Zealand. Further, each year there are three dedicated after the tornado hit. Learning about Canterbury’s Student members of the Student Volunteer Army leadership team Volunteer Army really inspired me. It showed the world the who focus on schools and they are facilitating service impact young adults can have. and leadership symposia for high school students. We are We are excited that the work of the Student Volunteer looking at these school connections and how this may Army has inspired many people around the world to potentially be linked to NCEA credits. actively contribute to their communities and become more engaged citizens. The seismic shifts caused by the The impact of the Student Volunteer 2010 and 2011 earthquakes in Christchurch have led to positive civic shifts that will last well into the future. Army continues United States President Thomas Jefferson said that the Reference true measure of a person is what they do when no one Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. is watching. This is also the measure of the impact of Wellington: Learning Media. an individual or an organisation—what happens when the spotlight or the personality is no longer present. Billy Osteen is the Associate Professor of What will people be inspired to do on their own? The Community Engagement and Director of the true legacy of the Student Volunteer Army and all that Community Engagement Hub at the University of has followed on from it can be seen in the actions of Canterbury. Prior to this appointment, he has worked Jessica Weston in November of 2013 in Illinois. Jessica with the United States Senate, the Peace Corps, was a visiting student at the University of Canterbury in Children's International Summer Village in Brazil, February–July of 2013 where she took the CHCH101 class and North Carolina State University. and had the opportunity to meet some of the core leaders Email: [email protected] of the Student Volunteer Army. In her final assignment for the class, she described a desire to establish a student Sam Johnson is the founder of the Student volunteer movement at the University of Illinois. On Volunteer Army and Chair of the Volunteer Army November 17, 2013, a tornado devastated her hometown Foundation. Following his successful organisation of of Washington, Illinois, and a day later, Jessica went to the Student Volunteer Army, Sam has consulted with work at establishing a volunteer group at her university the United Nations, hosted a UNESCO Forum, and to provide immediate relief. She led the group to obtain provided on the ground assistance with volunteers a truck load of water, blankets, and other essential items after disasters in Sendai, Japan, Nepal, and Vanuatu. and deliver them to Washington within a week after the tornado. According to Jessica: Inspiring young people to connect with and contribute to their city SALLY AIREY AND RYAN REYNOLDS In a post-quake city with lots of empty spaces What motivates us? and vacant buildings, the small charitable A group of us started Gap Filler after the September 2010 trust Gap Filler has inspired young people to earthquake in Christchurch, with an aim to (re)create participate, contribute and fill these sites with spaces in the city that cultivate and express a sense of temporary projects and activities to inspire a new community. Two years later, the same small-scale, citizen- Ōtautahi Christchurch. led civic actions took on a different meaning, as the antithesis to the top-down approach that the government https://doi.org/10.18296/set.0059 set 3, 2016 59 EXEMPLARS OF CITIZENSHIP LEARNING was taking towards the rebuild. Now, our motivations We help teachers and students engage with the are shifting once again, as we position ourselves to city beyond Gap Filler’s work by providing customised effect positive community outcomes on major public information about other community and art projects and private developments. At its core, our work is about through guided tours and maps. We conduct workshops to promoting civic rights (demonstrating that anyone can connect young people with creative professionals to share take action in their city, and inspiring and helping them skills, generate ideas for our future city, and take action. At to do so) and civic responsibility (that when one takes our He Tangata workshop, young people worked alongside action one ought to be working for the greater good). artist Tony Cribb to paint banners depicting people, and In 2012 Gap Filler started an education programme to hang them on the inner city cordon fence—a symbolic to engage youth with their post-quake city. We wanted to repopulation and reminder that kids have the right to be see youth coming back into the “red zone” which had been seen and to contribute to our city.1 closed to the public for more than 2 years, and to provide We provide youth volunteer experiences and opportunities for them to contribute and participate in internships, and opportunities for students to be the (re)making of our city. Since then we have directly involved in creating projects in the city. Gap Filler is interacted with more than 2000 primary students from 30 used as a role model for civic action by our local schools, schools, 1000 high school students from 28 schools, and tertiary institutions and around the world. Canterbury 1000 tertiary students—and we have collaborated with University’s Community Engagement Director, Billy youth groups and organisations to dream up, and deliver, Osteen, said: events and projects, and encouraged many more to develop Through their experiences with Gap Filler … [our] students connections to the city through engaging with our public have gained in citizenship, creativity, problem solving and projects. Our work has been recognised by the Ministry self-efficacy. Just as importantly, they have seen, first-hand, of Education and in 2017 Gap Filler will be offering how the motivation and passion of the Gap Filler staff has two LEOTC programmes: Connect & Participate and positively changed the CBD. Contribute & Create. What have we noticed about the How do we support civic engagement impact of our work? What have we and citizen learning? learnt? We have explored many different ways of supporting We’ve been struck by the way that youth “claim” our young people to engage with and learn about their city. projects and transform them to suit their needs. Now, RE-Entry, one of our first youth events, began with we aim to create environments that stimulate unique meeting a group of young people from five local high interactions and experiences, and generate creative schools who were interested in attracting youth back into responses. Providing opportunities to contribute to the central city. They decided to showcase local high- city-making has created a participatory culture and a school bands and short films their friends had made, practical realisation of democracy. The Dance-O-Mat is at an event on a demolition site in the central city. Gap an outdoor dance venue where people bring along their Filler lowered the barriers by negotiating access to the own music and customise their own public performances. site, sourcing infrastructure and resources, and providing We know through videos shared on social media that it mentorship and planning support. provides a unique venue for youth in our city and has Gap Filler projects such as the Pallet Pavilion and The become part of our city’s new shared identity. Commons have hosted numerous youth performances Cashmere Primary School students identified a need markets and school events. The accessible and welcoming for opportunities to play in the city. Working with Daniel public spaces we create provide inspiration, basic Gorman at Te Waka Unua Technology Centre, they built infrastructure and support for others to realise their ideas. an obstacle course for younger kids to enjoy in the city, Last September, Waimairi School turned our site The which we host at The Commons. Their project is now Commons into a gigantic pop-up arts festival with 500 a public amenity. The students got the opportunity to child performers throughout the day. Waimairi Principal implement their ideas in the real world, and to see others Mike Anderson reflected that the benefit from their contribution. finale day was a significant community event. The children’s Our projects are never ends in themselves. They wonderful displays and performances were the catalyst for provide amenity value – but more than that, they inspire our school community to come together, connect with each others to take civic action. Our Think Differently Book other and continue the process of re-claiming our devastated Exchange (in an old refrigerator) has been consistently city centre as a community use space. 60 set 3, 2016 EXEMPLARS OF CITIZENSHIP LEARNING used for 5 years; it also motivates others to re-purpose Roe, T., & Young, T. (2015). Art of recovery [Film]. Fisheye different objects as community exchanges around the city. Films. Youth who contribute to civic life have an opportunity www.gapfiller.org.nz to become part of our community, creating connections with people and place and engendering pride and a sense of belonging. These connections between people and Sally Airey is an educationalist and community place, and the experience of collective action that makes facilitator who has managed the education and a difference, invoke responsibility and stewardship for youth programme for Gap Filler since 2012 and our city and a practical sense of citizenship.
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